Swapping out stock Fog Lights

I was thinknig of swapping out my stock fog lights on my 98 Explorer. As all of you probably know, the 98 has the rectangular housing. I was thinking of buying a set of PIAA 2100x and installing them in place of the stock lights...they will fit almost perfectly in place with just a little space around the opening.

Now my main question...I was thinking of just cutting off the stock harness and splicing the PIAA into the factory wiring...Will this be ok or do you think I'll burn something up?

Thanks!

Jon

 

[jssong]

im not sure if thats a good idea.. other members might have better insight, like bmxboy or mattadams, but i think splicing is never a good thing. i think u should change allt he wiring but use the same switch if u want. good luck.. and where on the island are u from?

 

[Bill Kemp]

You want the 12 to 14 volts the lights were made for to run them at their highest level of brightness. You can not get that voltage through the factory wireing.
So you use the PIAA wiring and instead of using the switch to power the relay, that turns on the lights, you use the factory hot lead from your old fog lights to activate the relay.
Not hard to do and no chance of overloading factory wiring and you get full performance from the lights.

 

[zzimzimma]

Thankks guys for your input. I was thinking the factory wiring would be a bad idea. Another follow up question now...where is the factory relay located for the stock lights? I'm assuming its pretty much assembled the same as an aftermarket relay set in that it has a wire coming somewhere from the switch on the dash. Any ideas where to find this?

jssong...to answer your question..I'm from Smithtown..I see you're from Jericho...cool deal..Any others on this board from the Island that you know of? Do you guys ever get together anywhere? Just curious..I think it would be cool to show off each others trucks and get some ideas. I've only had the truck for about a year now but I'm really getting into doing some mods now. I know this really isn't the forum for this but any recommendations on an intake kit as well?

Thanks,
Jon

 

[jssong]

i know mikke, dasfrem, and chuckyd are from the island. east coast xplorers is a club that a few people are part of. they meet here and there for trail runs or just meeting up i think. im not on the island most of the time.. and i havent been on this forum too long, so i havent met up wtih anyone yet. good luck with the mods..

 

[arturogof]

If you are running 55W on the PIAAs then you should be fine with the factory harness. I have already used the factory harness to power a pair of Hellas. It has been almost six months and they run very well.
Remember, only if you are running 55W bulbs !!!!!


Hope this helps,

 

[taxx]

I'm running 1400s off the factory wires, but anything larger and more powerfull I would run new wires

 

[Bill Kemp]

You guys running off the factory wires are not getting the full amount of light out of your bulbs. Factory wires do not deliver the same voltage as the aftermarket light harnesses. You have 55 watt bulbs that perform like 45 watt bulbs.
But if your happy......

 

[taxx]

I'm happy. The wire size of my fog lamps is the same if not smaller than the factory fog lamp wires. But I get plenty of light. Now I'm gonna have to test it and see if it is getting as bright as directly from the battery.

 

[arnothijssen]

I dont get it, relay or no relay. Ultimately the power comes all from the battery, which in an average exp. delivers about 13.4V.

The use of the relay is reduce the amperage going through your switch. (so your light switch doesnt get the full amp load of your lights)

Further, wiresize from the relay to your lights does matter. The higher the amp load to your light the thicker your wires should be to prevent a fire. The wires to your switch are ok, since the only get the amp load of the coil of your relay.

ADVICE : Always use a relay !!!

 

[zzimzimma]

Ok, Now I'm totally confused about how to go about this. I've gotten many different answers on whether the stock wiring is good or if I should run the new kit that came with the lights. Any other input? I will be running the PIAA 2100X 55W xtreme white fog lights in the stock location.

Ok, my next question is if I was to go with the aftermarket relay and wiring, how would I tap into the factory wiring so I can use the factory switch by the radio? I know the relay is located under the airbox but exactly what wire do I need to splice for the switch?

I'm also planning on doing the mod so the fogs come on with the parking lights. I'm sure you all know they only work with the headlights on which I really dont like. So, in that case, I have to splice 2 wires...1 for the power from the switch for the relay and the other one to send power to the relay when the parking lights are on instead of the headlights. Is that right?..some help would be appreciated.

Thanks
Jon

 

[taxx]

When in doubt use the wire kit that comes with the lamps.

arnothijssen: you clarify a good point. The wire size is dependent on current. The current is determined by your bulb. ie: 55 Watt bulb at 12Volts is pulling 4.58 A (if I did my math right), so if the stock bulbs where 55 w you are fine.

 

[zzimzimma]

OK, so let me get this straight, The stock Ford Fog Lights are 55 watts and my new PIAA bulbs are also 55 watts. So in reality, I should be ok with the stock setup if I'm drawing the same amount of amps with both sets of lights. Correct??

Or, following your other theory about the fact that the bulbs will not be as bright as they could be, that means that the stock setup isnt as bright as they should be also and can be brighter...right?

I'm not trying to start an argument or disagree...you are the experts but I'm just curious thats all.

Thanks again
Jon

 

[edlmann]

Originally posted by zzimzimma
OK, so let me get this straight, The stock Ford Fog Lights are 55 watts and my new PIAA bulbs are also 55 watts. So in reality, I should be ok with the stock setup if I'm drawing the same amount of amps with both sets of lights. Correct??

Or, following your other theory about the fact that the bulbs will not be as bright as they could be, that means that the stock setup isnt as bright as they should be also and can be brighter...right?

I'm not trying to start an argument or disagree...you are the experts but I'm just curious thats all.

Thanks again
Jon

What they're saying is that the stock wiring is inadequate for the stock lights. The stock lights would be better by wiring with 12 ga wire direct from the battery and using the stock wiring only to trip the contril circuit of the relay you'll add. The stock wiring is maybe 18 ga at best.

 

[arturogof]

Why not putting two sets of lamps in your truck!!!!!!!!!

Use the PIAAs with the PIAA relay and cables and use the stock ford fog lamp connection to plug in a pair of nice looking lamps, like HELLA micro DE or something like that.

Anyway, just a thought, I just think the more lights you have the better!!!!!!

 

[zzimzimma]

Ok, you guys won me over, I'll use the PIAA relay and wiring. Ok, now heres my last and final question in regards to this:

When I hook up the PIAA relay, I'm wondering about some things..first off, it should work anytime i want denpending on where I hook my power up to ..correct? Like, if i splice off the parking lamps, it will work when i have the parking lamps on. My main power and ground would be hooked up to the battery. But, my next question is how do I interface the new relay with the factory switch? What wire do I need to cut and splice near the facotry relay??

Thanks
Jon